Its creators hope the Greater Syracuse Property Development Corp. will be able to coax delinquent property owners into paying up. If not, the agency is better equipped to to seize abandoned properties.

It's all with the goal of getting more land back onto the tax rolls, says Syracuse's Neighborhood Development Commissioner Paul Driscoll.

"It will send a message that you need to pay your taxes," says Driscoll. "But for people who have completely walked away from their responsibilities, it provides a consequence where foreclosure could occur."

The property development corporation is a nonprofit agency formed in partnership with the county.

The state legislature passed a bill last summer authorizing the creation of land banks. This week, Empire State Development (ESD), the state's economic development arm, approved land banks for:

Buffalo and Erie County

Syracuse and Onondaga County

Schenectady and Schenectady County

Chautauqua County

City of Newburgh

ESD plans to review more applications and approve a second round of five land banks.

The board of Syracuse's land bank will meet soon to discuss strategy moving forward, according to Driscoll.